More than 200,000 protesters disrupt traffic in India’s financial capital

More than 200,000 protesters poured into India’s financial capital on Wednesday, disrupting traffic and straining the railway network in Mumbai, to press their demands for reserved quotas in government jobs and college places for students.

Traffic came to a halt in many parts of the business district, while protesters jammed suburban trains.

Rising unemployment and falling farm incomes are driving farming communities across India, to redouble calls for reservations in jobs and education.

Two-thirds of India’s population of 1.3 billion depend on farming for their livelihood, but the sector makes up just 14 percent of GDP, reflecting a growing divide between the countryside and increasingly well-off cities.